A fiber filler is typically added to a thermoset resin such as those used in sheet molding compounds (SMC) or bulk molding compounds (BMC) in order to provide a variety of adjustable properties for the resulting article. Fillers are routinely added to reduce article cost, modify viscosity of pre-cured loaded resins, control article shrinkage, control surface finish, density, flammability, electrical conductivity, chemical resistance, and strength of the resulting thermoset formulation. Particulate fillers typically account for amounts ranging from 0-80 total weight percent with typical particle filler sizes ranging from 0.1 to 50 microns. In addition to particulate fillers, fiber fillers are typically present in a thermoset resin formulation to provide enhanced strength to the resulting article relative to particulate filler. Fiber fillers have traditionally included glass, carbon, polyimides, polyesters, polyamides, and natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and hemp. Optimal three-dimensional strength in such an article when the reinforcing fibers are randomly oriented within the cured polymer matrix.
As a thermoset resin with fiber reinforcement has attractive properties in terms of high strength to weight ratios and the ability to form a stress skin construct, SMCs have long been considered in automotive and aerospace applications as an alternative to metal body components. While there have been numerous attempts to develop models to create preforms, these have generally relied on a process of catching fibers from a slurry on a screen contoured in the shape of the desired preform, followed by a secondary drying to set the shape of the preform. Thermoplastic binders have been used in concert with heat to set the fibers in the preform shape. The preform is then subjected to optional trimming and impregnated with reactive resin through a reaction injection molding process to form a composite article. A molding technique is detailed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,147. A lifting screen preform mold process and apparatus is provided for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,720.
To obtain reliable quality articles for automotive and other high stringency applications, it is important the fiber preforms have piece-to-piece constituency and a uniform fiber density within various regions of a preform. Typically, preforms tend to accumulate excess fibers proximal to edges while the center regions tend to be fiber deficient. This inhomogeneity in fiber density and also a degree of undesirable fiber preferential orientation are caused by fiber movement between contact with the preform mold screen and preform set of fiber position. While glass fibers are observed to have a nominal degree of fiber aggregation in a slurry that leads to the formation of an oriented clump of fibers being formed in a preform, these tendencies towards aggregation are more pronounced for other types of fibers such as carbon fibers and cellulosic-based fibers. While variant techniques have been explored, problems persist with slurry preform formation associated with limited throughout, and inhomogeneity of fiber densities within a preform.
Thus, there exists a need for a fiber slurry composition and an apparatus to achieve a greater degree of uniformity in fiber density in slurry derived preform. There also exists a need for a process of forming preforms with greater throughput than obtained with a tank immersion screen mold.